


A Year Alone

by jesterlavorre



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: And then it wasn't, Angst, Descendants Spoilers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Descendants 2, Pre-Descendants 3, Tags May Change, Uma's Crew - Freeform, at least the first part, honestly idk i expected this to be a one-shot, i had this idea when rewatching d2 with some friends, idk what else to tag it as?, it's p angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-14 17:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20196193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesterlavorre/pseuds/jesterlavorre
Summary: Uma leaves. She'll be back, though, and then Harry can fix what he broke.





	1. Cotillion

“Uma!” Harry’s arms strained to hold him up, and slipping back into the water would be… unpleasant to say the least. Uma’s hand grasped his as she helped him out of the water and up onto the dock.

“Mal’s mine!” Uma said, after Harry was safely out of the water. She began following the now visible retreating VKs. Harry felt a pit open up in his stomach, an unfamiliar sickly sensation. Ignoring it entirely, he smiled, hurrying after Uma.

Uma locked swords with Mal once again as Harry caught up to Ben. “Hiya!” Harry could tell that his strikes were sloppier. The hollow feeling was throwing off his sword fighting. Ben felt confident enough to tease him. Harry’s face darkened as he pushed all of the emptiness into rage. The VKs wouldn’t escape from Uma, not after all she had worked for. Uma just wanted to see them freed. Harry would help make her dream a reality.

Ben backed away from Harry as purple smoke suddenly clouded his vision. He could hear the VKs talking back and forth, he could make out their retreating footsteps, but he couldn’t see a damn thing. When the purple faded, Mal was standing on the other side of the bridge, which she promptly kicked down. 

“What’s my name?” Uma said, yelling at an unresponsive Mal, who simply watched the pirates. “What’s my name?” Uma said again, turning and hitting Harry’s shoulder. He went with the hit, taking a step back. Harry’s grip on his sword was turning his knuckles white. The end of the sword fight meant the end of a place to channel his rage, which was quickly slipping away.

Mal disappeared through the tunnel, and Harry felt nauseous. Uma growled, and turned, running across the docks. “I’ll fix this,” she said, her voice low as Harry and Gil followed her. The three of them found where the VKs must have parked their fancy, magic car. “Mal left her spellbook.” Uma crouched down. “I have to follow them. I’m the only one who will make the swim across.” She turned to Harry and Gil. “I’ll free all of us. I promise.”

Uma left as quickly as the VKs, racing to the spot where the VKs would open the barrier. Harry stared after her, his body shaking. He hadn’t been without Uma, not since they had met. The barrier would close after the VKs and he wouldn’t be able to reach her. He wouldn’t be able to protect her, not that she’d need it. He wouldn’t be able to apologize. 

“Harry? What do we do now?” Gil asked, hesitantly. How should he know? This was all his fault in the first place. If Uma hadn’t stopped to help him, Mal wouldn’t have gotten away. Uma would have broken the barrier. Every kid on the isle would be able to go to Auradon and ride in magic cars, eat good food, and sleep in warm beds. No, Harry wasn’t stupid. He knew he had ruined everything.

“Let’s go back to the Chip Shop,” Harry said. If Bore-don’s stupid TV propaganda was to be believed, he thought he remembered something about cotillion. That would definitely be shown on TV. Uma might be there because Ben would be there and Uma’s plan probably involved Ben. It had last time.

Harry returned to the docks, and told everyone that Uma was free form the isle, which made the pirates cheer. They followed him to the restaurant, just like he always followed Uma. He turned on the TV, and there was an announcer talking about cotillion. It was in two hours, which Harry knew was a loooooong time. Groaning, he flopped into an empty chair. Two hours until he could see Uma. She’d break down the barrier and free all of them and he could tell her what a great job she did and apologize. 

Harry must have fallen asleep, because he felt Gil shaking him awake. “Hey, Harry! Harry! It’s Uma! She’s on TV!” Harry jolted upright, slamming his forehead into Gil’s accidently. Gil rubbed his head, but Harry ignored the pain, sliding into place in front of the TV. Uma’s crew circled the table and fixed their eyes to the screen.

Uma looked beautiful. Uma looked nothing like herself. Uma always looked beautiful. She was holding hands with the king. She was talking about love. She looked like something you could break. She didn’t look like a pirate. Uma looked like a princess. Ben’s princess. 

“Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady,” Ben announced. His lady? Harry’s hollow feeling seemed to prick his skin from the inside, and a bitter taste coated his mouth. Uma had tricked the prince. After a brief interruption from the king, which Ben responded to surprisingly aggressively, he continued. “As my gift to her, I’m bringing down the barrier once and for all!”

“Mateys!” Harry exclaimed. “We ride with the tide!” The pirates around Harry yelled and jeered. Ben, the gullible, dupeable prince. Uma, their cunning and wise captain. The celebration didn’t last for long, though.

Uma had put a spell on Ben, and Mal broke it. Mal and Ben had something stronger than Uma’s magic, apparently. It must be because she used Mal’s spellbook. Uma’s magic would never fail. Uma ran out of the cameras line of sight, and then the TV went dark.

“What happened?” Gil asked. No one answered. No one could. Silence descended over the pirates. For several minutes, none of them spoke. Harry’s mind raced. Would the capture Uma? Would they hurt her? No, they were on a boat. They’d never catch Uma, she could dive into the water. She’d swim faster than any Auradon boat, no matter how magical or special. None of the pirates could keep up. Harry would have been dead weight if he’d gone.

“Business as usual!” Harry broke the silence. “We wait for Uma’s return.” With the spellbook, even without the spellbook, surely Uma would break the barrier. Not enough for them to get out, obviously, but enough for her to return to them. To him. He would take care of things in her absence. He could do that much for her. It was his job to help her, after all, not hinder her, or make her fail her goal, or…

“Harry?” Gil and Harry were the only ones remaining in the restaurant. Harry’s head snapped towards Gil, his eyes unfocused. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay,” Harry responded, not giving the question even a moment’s thought. “Don’t ask stupid questions.” It was going to be okay, because when his smile wasn’t real Uma had always helped him. Harry gave Gil a smile, a fake one because it couldn’t be real, not right now. “You have a job to do. Go do it.”

Harry watched Gil leave, the doors swinging and creaking for seconds afterwards. Uma would return. Everything would be fine. Harry’s fake smile lingered on his face. It would stay until she came back. His captain. Her first mate would handle things until then. It wouldn't be long now.


	2. The Isle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waiting doesn't suit Harry.

Harry didn’t sleep. He waited for Uma’s return. He didn’t even realize it had been a full night until he saw the sun peak over the horizon. He wasn’t tired. His muscles responded sluggishly because of the fight. The sword fight. 

“Harry!” Gil’s voice was too loud, too bright, and too cheerful. Gil wrapped his arm around Harry’s shoulders like Uma was going to appear at any moment. Which she was. “Good morning!” 

“No,” Harry replied. It wasn’t a good morning. How could anyone say it was a good morning? They had failed, they were all stuck on the isle of the lost, and Uma was gone. She was out of the barrier. In Auradon. The blood drained from Harry’s face as a thought struck him. What if she never came back? What if she found out how great Auradon was?

In Auradon, there would always be enough food, and it would probably even taste good too. In Auradon, there would be enough beds, warm soft beds, for everyone. She’d have it all to herself, too. In Auradon there wouldn’t be any lousy first mates who took up too much space, ate too much food, and failed too many times. 

Several of the pirate crew came up to Harry. They asked him what they should do. It was obvious what they should do. They would do what they always did, so everything would be ready for Uma’s return. She would come back for them. Harry had to believe that. If he didn’t believe that, he had nothing. Gil followed Harry into the Chip Shop. Maybe he had one thing. Gil wasn’t the brightest, but neither was Harry. 

“Gil,” Harry began. “We have to cover Uma’s shifts.” Harry glanced around the back area. “I don’t know how to cook,” he said, quietly.

“Oh! Well I do!” Gil replied, moving about the kitchen. He began opening drawers and pulling out pots, pans, trays, and a whole host of different foods. Harry watched as Gil began putting fish in pans and cracking eggs. Mostly cracking eggs. Harry had a feeling that the menu was about to change. He knew Uma’s attitude, and Ursula’s for that matter, about customer complaints. Anyone who didn’t want eggs would just have to deal.

Harry exited the back area, watching as customer’s filed into the Chip Shop. No one asked after Uma, and Harry was simultaneously relieved and pissed. Everyone should have Uma in their mind. She had tried to save them, and she was coming back to them. How could they be thinking about anything else? 

On the other hand, Harry wasn’t sure he’d be able to answer any curious questions. His throat closed when he thought about telling someone that Uma was gone. That he didn’t know when she would be back. 

The day passed in a haze. Harry half expected Uma to bust into the restaurant at any moment. She’d ask what her name was. He’d tell her, a real smile on his face, bowing before her. She’d regale them all of what Auradon was like, and how she got back. Harry would listen to her until she finished talking. He would give anything to hear her voice again. 

A few customers did, in fact, complain about the new, eggy dishes, and they promptly stopped complaining when Harry’s hook rested against their throat. He didn’t know anything about cleaning, but that was never a top priority for customers on the Isle. He kept people in line, he brought out food, he watched as Gil flipped forks and knives around the kitchen and cooked. 

Gil came out of the kitchen after everyone had left. “See you tomorrow, Harry!” His voice was still so happy. 

“Yeah. Tomorrow.” 

Gil waved at Harry as he left, and Harry waved his hook at Gil in return. Standing alone in the Chip Shop, Harry felt like he might drop to the floor from exhaustion. His feet moved without his order, bringing him to Uma’s quarters before his brain could catch up. He’d slept in Uma’s quarters before, of course. The ground wasn’t that much worse than a hammock, and both Uma and him had nightmares. His company was better than nothing for her, and her company made him feel safe.

Harry didn’t feel safe now. He felt out of place. He felt vulnerable. He knew he shouldn't be here. Uma would punch him if she found him lurking about her room, uninvited and alone. Harry could take a punch if it meant he could be in a room that felt like Uma. He collapsed on the floor, drifting off to sleep. 

There was no sign of the sun when Harry woke, which meant it was later than he normally rose. The sun was already hiding behind the constantly overcast sky of the Isle. Harry’s body hurt from sleeping on the floor, but that he could handle. Uma had not come back in the night, and his sleep had been awful. Restless and plagued with thoughts of Uma not returning, or worse, being hurt where he was unable to reach her, guaranteed rocky sleep for the son of Hook. 

Gil was already up and cooking when Harry got to the Chip Shop. His sunny disposition worsened Harry’s. Today, as he performed Uma’s duties, Harry thought about Ursula. He hadn’t heard from her since Uma had left, and he half wondered if Ursula even knew her daughter was missing. Harry knew she didn’t care, especially since Gil and Harry and a few of the other pirates were picking up all of Uma’s shifts. The thought left a vile taste in Harry’s mouth, and he spit on the ground as he slammed another tray down in front of another customer. 

Another uneventful day led to another night of Harry passing out on the floor of Uma’s cabin. That morning, his fingers were bloody from scratching the floor when he woke up. Harry was certain that he’d have nightmares until Uma got back, but he was fine. Gil asked about his nails, some bent and some even broken, all crusted with dried blood. Harry’s reply came out as a snap, telling Gil to mind his own business. 

“Harry? Did you eat anything I made yesterday?” Gil asked, eating a few eggs himself. Harry threw him an insulted look. Had he eaten? … Had he eaten? Harry couldn't remember. Now that he was focused on it, his stomach felt even worse, like the hollow feeling had become physical. Which would make a lot of sense, since the more Harry thought about it the more sure he became that he hadn’t eaten since the morning before Uma left. 

“No,” Harry growled, and his stomach growled too. Gil frowned and handed Harry a tray of food. Harry glared at Gil, to no effect as the cheerful pirate cook just turned back to his work. Grumbling, Harry sat down and scarfed down the food. Oh, he was so hungry. He finished off the food in record time, and instantly felt sick.

“Do you want any more?” Gil asked, not turning to look. Harry shook his head, and Gil took his silence as a no. Harry spent the next half hour laying on the docks, listening to the sea and wishing Uma would hop out of the water and scold him for lounging about. Then feeling sick would have been worth it.

She didn’t appear.


End file.
